Many of you know that I'm now 8 weeks pregnant with my second baby--my husband's first. This morning (I'm SOOO sorry if this is TMI but I feel comfortable here..) I noticed spotting and dh immediately called my doctor. My doctor, btw, is the only one in a private practice so after hour phone calls roll to his cell. We had to leave a message but he called back in 5 minutes and said it happens sometimes--doesn't mean anything is wrong and is likely nothing to worry about if it's not "flowing" like a period (which is wasn't) and if it doesn't accompany cramps (which it didn't). He also said to watch it for the week--no intercourse--call if it continues. That was 10:00 this morning and since then I've had no spotting or other problems. Have any of you other moms ever experienced this--I'm so afraid--I didn't experience this with with first child. Dh also looked up info on the internet and said that something sites indicated that it happens in as many as 25% of women and is more common in the first trimester during the time you would have had a period through when you would have ovulated (which would be now for me). All of this information has been a little reassuring but I still can't get it off my mind. To make matter worse--this happened just after we were "intimate" and so dh feels like he did something wrong. If any of you have experienced something similar and have experiences to share or advice to offer--I'd really appreciate it.

horve1

06-11-2006, 06:20 PM

Cristy - first of all, huge hug!!! I almost didn't reply because I didn't want you to think I have anything really useful to say. My pregnancy was uneventful except for constant 24 7 "morning" sickness for about 7 months. But I think doctors now are so into the CYA thing that if there was a chance anything was really wrong he would have wanted to see you or something. So you and your DH should really try to breathe easy.

Celine

06-11-2006, 06:22 PM

It never happened to me in my three pregnancies but I had a close friend that DID spot when she was pregnant and it was "normal" for her. But stay in close touch with your doctor and his/her advice. God bless you and the sweet baby. :heart:

Cristy

06-11-2006, 06:25 PM

thanks guys...like both of you--I had no problems in my first and I've never known anyone who had spotting that didn't miscarry. The only thing keeping me in high hopes right now is that the spotting was momentary and hasn't come back--and believe me--I've checked constantly.

Nikki

06-11-2006, 06:27 PM

Big, gentle hugs. I did what you're doing and all was fine, try to worry a bit less ;) AND I found that these things mostly happen on the weekends when you can't run in for a quick check, just another something to stress us. Just take it easy and pay close attention to how you're feeling. Think of it as a good excuse to put your feet up and knit-Nikki's orders.
Nikki

Cristy

06-11-2006, 06:32 PM

Thanks Nikki--I immediately took my dd to see Cars to get my mind off of it and I've been on the couch most of the rest of the day (although I'm feeling guilty b/c the house is a mess!). I'll try to follow your orders!

margie

06-11-2006, 06:34 PM

I hope that everything is ok- Christy. I had some spotting with my first, which of course put me in a panic, just like you!! Just take it easy, and call the Doc on Monday if you have any questions- that is why they are paid the big bucks. My OB saw me many times, just for "peace of mind" checks.
:heart: to you and your little one.

Ingrid

06-11-2006, 06:36 PM

This happened to me with my second pregnancy at about 10 weeks I guess. The doctor told me that this is a period when the placenta is growing rapidly, tapping into the blood vessels of the uterine wall, and that some leakage occurs. Just take it easy and follow his instructions. You should be fine. :pray:

Cristy

06-11-2006, 06:39 PM

Thanks guys. I'm hanging in there--my next appointment isn't for 3 more weeks which feels like an eternity! That's the heartbeat appointment...I'll call him again if I have any more problems...so far so good and hopefully it'll stay that way.

Julie

06-11-2006, 06:40 PM

I never had spotting in my healthy pregnancies -- only the one I lost. BUT I know scads of women who have had spotting without incident. I have a sizeable group of friends who have suffered child loss at various stages, and I would venture to say that at least 3/4 of them have had spotting during their helathy pregnancies. I can think of four off the top of my head who are pregnant right now and had early spotting. There are sooo many reasons for spotting, and while it's soemthign you should keep an eye on obviously, it's not necessarily a sign of serious trouble. (((HUGS)))

projectgal

06-11-2006, 07:13 PM

Spotting sometimes also occurs when your period would have been. doesn't really make sense to me, but pregnancy is a funny time of life! And spotting definitely can happen after "marital relations" or extramarital for that matter :D .

And just because this is your second pregnancy, don't think it will be ANYTHING like your first! My second pregnancy was so different, I just knew it must be a girl (my first was a boy). The child that arrives will also be VERY different than your first! It's almost like you need a new owner's manual.

Rest, rest, rest! Maybe what you really need is more knitting! I know it's hard with another child, but you really need to focus on doing what is right for you and your growing body. Maybe now is the time to find a series of books you and your daughter enjoy that you can read aloud to her. It would give you the time to rest, and she would feel that you are spending special time with her. It would be a neat tradition to follow when you are trying to feed the baby during those feeding marathons and she could get attention too!

And another thing to remember...Don't hesitate to call your doctor if you have questions or a concern. They are used to crazy women calling ;) They wouldn't be in obstectrics if they couldn't handle us!

JLC

06-11-2006, 07:14 PM

I had some spotting for one afternoon in the early stages of my first pregnancy. I was out shopping with my dad and didn't want to discuss the issue with him, but I kept going to the bathroom in every place we went, just to make sure it wasn't getting worse. It never happened again, though. I'm sure everything will be fine...good luck!

rebecca

06-11-2006, 07:23 PM

Hugs your way, my friend ;) I had spotting at approx. the same time frame as you and everything was okay, the doc just had me stay off of my feet for a week ;)

gimmesanity

06-11-2006, 07:56 PM

I spotted at about 7 weeks and totally freaked out...we went in, had an u/s, and found that the little monkey was fine. Spotting is normal - it's just your body's way of reacting to stress. A lot of things are happening right now, and eventhough this is your second, it's still soooo different from the 'normal' state of things.

I was put on pelvic rest for three days. I think it was more for me to chill out and try to relax.

{{{HUGS}}} I know it's so hard not to freak out over everything. Like your dr said, as long as it's not clots, and it's not accompanied by cramps, chances are that it's just the baby's way of letting you know that they're there. ;)

callmesusan

06-11-2006, 07:57 PM

I am a sonographer (I do ultrasound) and we see this all the time. It is not unusual. Hang in there! Your doctor will hopefully do an ultrasound so you can see the embryo with a heartbeat and rest assured. The way it works is this: if the embryo survives the event that causes the bleeding, it will, in most cases, go on as a normal pregnancy.

knitwit2

06-11-2006, 08:09 PM

Christy, It happened to me on both pregnancies. It happened around 4 months. The doctor didn't have any explanation but both my boys were perfect. I know it is hard not to worry but I believe everything is just fine. I remember when it happened with my first, it was so scarey.

knitwit2

06-11-2006, 08:12 PM

Christy, It happened to me on both pregnancies. It happened around 4 months. The doctor didn't have any explanation but both my boys were perfect. I know it is hard not to worry but I believe everything is just fine. I remember when it happened with my first, it was so scarey.

blueeyes28

06-11-2006, 08:22 PM

I had bleeding with 2nd pregnancy quite a lot actually and lots of other issues too (that had nothing to do with bleeding) but my little bundle of joy turned 2 last month and is in good shape I think after having a great first pregnancy witch I did someone was just reminding me what a miracle it really is!!!Good luck

Sara

06-11-2006, 08:39 PM

This comment is for DH:

When I was pregnant with my first, I had a little spotting a couple of times. However, since the father lived in another town and was never around, it was not related to intercourse. DH shouldn't feel guilty because this can happen without any contact.

:heart: Hugs for both of you!

Pixywhispers

06-11-2006, 08:41 PM

Congratulations on the pregnancy!

I've worked as a doula and midwives assistant for years and have spotted in all of my pregnancies, so heres one more vote for enjoy and relax. I'm sorry that scared you. It is so scary. This has happened with three of my children. Spotting for less then a day and then it was as if nothing ever happened and the pregnancies continued normally.

With my last baby I spotted for weeks, and she was fine as well. I had lots of ultrasounds with her as weeks of spotting was so stressful.

Sometimes it happens because of intimacy, being constipated, and/or exertion (too much work or lifting of heavy objects), implantation, etc. And sometimes we dont know why. But dont worry, just because it happened that one time doesnt mean it will continue. This sounds very very normal.

Let us know how the next couple of days go.

Cristy

06-11-2006, 08:47 PM

you guys are just wonderful! I am already feeling better--I keep telling dh I'm sure things will be just fine b/c I know he is most freaked out. My dh is about as paranoid as they come and he tends to always have a guilty conscience even when it's in no way related to him! dh was a 2 pound baby so the day after we found out we were pregnant he asked if there was any way that the "smallness" could have been something wrong with him that was passed on to his baby?!!! I almost died b/c I knew right then that if ANYTHING went wrong he'd find some way for it to be his fault! I worked hard at work last week and I told him that if anything is was likely that that was the issue.
I'll keep you guys posted! :) Thanks again for all of the reassuring comments.

Lisa Kay

06-11-2006, 09:10 PM

Hi, Christy!

I hope you've been able to relax a little bit, even though I know it's very hard not to worry. I'd just like to offer you some reassurance from my experiences...

Right now I'm 34 weeks pregnant with baby #4. With baby #1, I spotted when I was about as far along as you are right now. It turned out to be fine, and we believe the spotting was a result of intercourse. I had other occasions of spotting throughout the pregnancy, and everything was always fine (and always seemed to happen within a few days after intercourse). I also had spotting with baby #2 and baby #3. I worried every single time, even though I had a history of this happening. My doctor always told me that as long as it was only spotting, didn't last, and wasn't acccompanied by cramping, that it should be okay. With baby #3 I did have one occasion around 17 weeks when the spotting seemed to go on longer than was acceptable. When I called in about it, they set me up for an ultrasound that afternoon. Everything was fine, but it was reassuring to be checked. So far I haven't had any spotting with baby #4. Woohoo! Every one of my pregnancies has been different, each with their own "issues." Certainly keeps it interesting (and yes, scary at times). What a reminder of how special and unique each child is in our family.

It's so hard at the beginning of the pregnancy to wait for that next appointment...4 weeks between appointments is forever! I'm glad that you've been in contact with your doctor. It's very true that we need to call our doctors about any concerns, no matter what. They've heard it all and are there to help. (And yes, it seems these types of things always happen at night or on the weekend. They never seem to happen during office hours.)

I know there are a lot of women for whom spotting is a sign of miscarriage. But that has never been the case for me. I spotted with each of my first three pregnancies, and all three are very happy and healthy children! Now we're on the home stretch for baby #4.

Good luck with everything, and please do try to relax. I agree with the advice others have already given...what a good reason to sit down and knit! And I think the idea of getting some special books to read with your daughter while you relax is wonderful! The house isn't going anywhere. We have to remember that we need to adjust how we do things and how much we do while we're pregnant. Otherwise, our bodies will let us know when we are doing too much.

Okay, this got really long, but I hope it was at least a little bit helpful.

Take care!

DoulaLyndsey

06-11-2006, 10:05 PM

Congrats on your pregnancy!!

I had spotting with my miscarriage and with my last baby. As soon as I started spotting with my last pregnancy, I freaked out and was sure I was miscarrying again. After a trip to the ER and an ultrasound later, it was determined that I had a subchorionic hemorrhage, or in laymans terms, a small tear in the lining of the uterus that had caused a pocket of blood to form between the chorionic sac and the uterus. Baby was fine despite the bleeding. I had bleeding from week 5 to week 15 and then it stopped. My daughter was born perfectly healthy!!

The difference between my miscarriage and my spotting was with my miscarriage, I was into full blown bleeding by that night and miscarried 2 days later. With the spotting, it tapered off and never intensified at all. I was told to just take it easy as to not aggravate the tear.

Many women have spotting in pregnancy and go on to have healthy babies. :thumbsup:

Thinking of you!!

IrishBaby

06-11-2006, 10:10 PM

I had a ton of spotting with my second pregnancy, and none with my first. I had spotting on three separate occasions, one that lasted several days. It IS very disconcerting and hard not to worry. Keep reminding yourself that it's normal, and that worrying won't change anything. ((((((((Hugs)))))))))

Cristy

06-11-2006, 10:12 PM

Thank you Lisa Kay--that was very reassuring and helpful! I haven't been knitting today but I have been blogging and surfing the net and KH. I'm feeling like everything is going to be okay but I had forgotton how anxious these first few months can be (my first child is now almost 4 yrs old!). Thanks you for the kind words!

IrishBaby

06-11-2006, 10:15 PM

Oh, one other thing... maybe someone has told you this already, if so, forgive me. But during pregnancy the blood supply to the cervix is greatly increased, so any sort of "disturbance" can create spotting. But it is NOT related to the health of the baby in any way, and is very common and normal. :)

Cristy

06-11-2006, 10:15 PM

thanks guys--everyone is making me feel so much better!

Amber

06-11-2006, 10:55 PM

Cristy,

First of all, big (((hugs)))! I spotted with both of my pregnancies, and I know how terrifying it is. I actually had spotting and cramping, which was really scary. I think now that the cramping was probably my uterus stretching, but we never did find a cause for the spotting. With my first I had light spotting at about 9 weeks. With my second I had spotting at 4 (right when my period was due), 6, and 8 weeks.

I now have two healthy, perfect boys.

Try not to worry. I know how hard that is. I think the best thing is to find something relaxing to take your mind off of it as much as possible.

Will you have an ultrasound soon? I know that made me feel much better with my second pregnancy when I was able to see a beating heart and healthy baby.[/i]

gardenmommy

06-11-2006, 11:49 PM

Everyone has great advice so far, and another possible source could be a urinary tract infection (same neighborhood, different house, if you know what I mean ;) ). Pregnant women seem to be a bit more prone to urinary tract infections, and hematuria, or blood in the urine, can be a symptom of those as well.

knittingdoula

06-12-2006, 01:49 AM

Hi there -

Another doula here, just chiming in with some info:

1. It is very common to bleed early in pregnancy, as this group has already noted. Tons of my clients have had bleeding.

2. Bleeding can occur during miscarriage and normal pregnancy. It's a wait and see thing. Bed rest this early on does not seem to affect outcomes.

3. A wonderful friend of mine experienced a fair amount of bleeding early in her pregnancy, and I just attended her birth on Friday, so things ended up just fine.

4. I've had spotting with both a miscarriage and a pregnancy, so I can relate to the feelings of fear that accompany them.

Try to relax and get some rest. Eat well, too. Hydrate. A lot.

And last, my one Constant Piece of Advice:

DON'T read What to Expect When You Are Expecting. It's a nice way to have a freak attack about pregnancy and get even more anxious. :D There's other wonderful books that are SO much more reassuring. Plus, those ladies seriously bug me, since they sometimes pass their beliefs off as fact. I hate it when authors do that.

Much luck, and here's to a wonderful and uneventful pregnancy!!

Alison

Boogs

06-12-2006, 06:17 AM

2. Bleeding can occur during miscarriage and normal pregnancy. It's a wait and see thing. Bed rest this early on does not seem to affect outcomes.
So true. I had incidents of bleeding during my first pregnancy and, though my eldest was born two months early he was perfectly fine and healthy. He is now 11 and you'd never guess that he was so small at birth, (3lb 11oz)!
It's scary, sure, but can happen for a variety of reasons - they put my bleeding down to a blood clot that was being kicked by the baby.

DON'T read What to Expect When You Are Expecting. It's a nice way to have a freak attack about pregnancy and get even more anxious. :D There's other wonderful books that are SO much more reassuring. Plus, those ladies seriously bug me, since they sometimes pass their beliefs off as fact. I hate it when authors do that.
Couldn't agree more with this! I didn't read it until my third pregnancy and I thought it was the biggest pile of pap I'd read in a long time - so I went out and bought a book by an author I knew I could trust, (Miriam Stoppard) as I'd had a previous book of hers during my first pregnancy.

All the same, congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope it causes you no more worries.

geekgolightly

06-12-2006, 09:27 AM

just more hugs here. i know how worrysome pregnancy can be.

knittingdoula, what books do you recommend? also, how much are doula services generally speaking?

skNYC

06-12-2006, 10:21 AM

With my first, I spotted for about a week at around 20th weeks along. I didn't call my doctor but at the following checkup, I told him, and he said it was nothing to worry about; but, the nurse told me I should call, eventhough there might not be anything they could about beside I should rest, I should still call them if it ever happened again. Spotting could be caused by different reasons. Implentation, contraction, etc. Usually doctors order you to rest more and in cerious cases, they want you to be in bed rest, literally.

I am glad your spotting stopped. Remember, don't lift anything heavy!

koolbreeze

06-12-2006, 01:36 PM

i had a little spotting back in April which made me go to the doctor. he said it was because i had sex... but it turned out that i had a low laying placenta. but since i was only 20 weeks they weren't to worried about it and said they would check again at 30 weeks. well 30 weeks for me was last week and the sonographer said that the placenta moved up. and i only spotted that one time. low laying placentas happening in most pregnancys and usually move up. but i solved one problem but got a whole new problem cause now i have low fluid.!!!! its always something with me! :rollseyes: i had that with my 3rd and had to get induced because it was so low.
but i wouldn't worry to much cause worring can only make matters worst. i was trippin for 2 weeks till i saw the doc again. he was cool about it. so i let it go and everything turned out fine... well not everything but its all good. i only have 9 weeks to go so hopefully little man can be cool and wait. they also told me to drink a lot of water... do you know how painful that is!!!!
((HUGS)) don't stress everything will be ok! :heart: :heart: oh and BTW this is my 5th pregnancy so i've sort of been through it all! ;)

Cristy

06-12-2006, 04:10 PM

I agree with the what to expect books...I hate them and especially hate what to eat when you are expecting b/c I think it's ideal--women aren't always capable of being ideal. I read it with my first child and felt guilty the entire way through for not being the "perfect" pregnant lady I was reading about. I appreciat everyone's suggestions and testimonials--it does make me feel better. I've been perfectly find today with no problems and to whoever asked--I do have an ultrasound scheduled but not for another 3 weeks. Doc said if I had any more problems this week he'd get me towards the end of the week and do one to see what's up--so far--there isn't a need.

misstialouise

06-12-2006, 04:23 PM

Hey Cristy,

I am now 21w pregnant (woo!), and I bled twice during week 7.

I did however have a miscarriage late last year, that started with a bleed that had no cramping.

I would suggest that if you're worried, get it checked out. You're best off having your worries alleviated with a needless check out (goodness knows I've had enough of them... LOL), than stress for three weeks, which isn't good for your or baby.

Lots of hugs to you and bub... :D

aylaanne

06-12-2006, 05:45 PM

Well, I'm heading toward childbirth education certification, so I can teach childbirth classes. One of the things I really want to do is teach an early pregnancy class, so that women who are newly pregnant can hook up with other women in their first trimester and have that support system to turn to, instead of just freaking out on your own or turning to the internet, you can actually eat ice cream together.

Like everyone said, spotting happens for lots of reasons. If it's related to intercourse, it might just be because of the fact that your cervix does have LOTS of blood vessels in it, which are being swollen by the pregnancy and hormones related to that. Blood vessels like to break when they're "bumped".

You have to remember that you started this pregnancy with a different body than you started your first pregnancy with. With your daughter, your cervix looked different and had never opened to accomodate a head, your uterus had never contracted to deliver a term baby, your breasts had never held colostrum or milk before and your nipples had never been suckled by a newborn. So, in addition to the fact that your baby is a different baby than the last time, your body is a different body, and is going to react differently.

I'd recommend "The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth" by Peggy Simpkin. It's one of my required reading books and I really like her approach to pregnancy and childbirth. I haven't read 'What to Expect" yet but I'm sure I will eventually, so I'm glad that I got some forewarning about what is in it.

finally, just the fact that you are conscious of how what you do every day might affect your growing baby is proof that you are doing the best you can to make sure that his or her environment is as healthy as it can be. Anything that happens outside of that is therefore unavoidable. Beating yourself up is useless and I don't recommend it.

Good luck and keep us posted! :thumbsup:

AmandaC

06-12-2006, 06:24 PM

Seems like you have had loads of reassurance already but just thought I would add some too.... My friend had spotting every 4 weeks at the beginning of her pregnancy which coincided with when her period would have been due. She freaked at the time but the Dr reassured her it was normal and her baby was fine. She had a little girl.

knittingdoula

06-12-2006, 06:42 PM

Hi again.

To answer the questions:

1. I suggest books such as:

a. The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (Henci Goer)
b. The Pregnancy Book (Dr. William and Martha Sears)
c. Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn (Penny Simkin et al.)
d. So That's What Those Are For! (Janet Tamaro)
e. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (Ina May Gaskin)
f. Birthing from Within (Pam England)

2. Doulas charge varying amounts throughout the country. In Missouri, I charged about $350 per birth. In California, I could easily charge $650-800. Depends. Our services also vary, as each doula is different. Philosophies vary wildly. Perhaps the biggest myth about doulas is that we only support women who want drug free births. While it would be lovely if the rate of epidural use could be brought down in this country (as their heavy use causes a variety of complications to both mother and baby), I have supported many women who chose to have them.

My end goal as a doula as this: it is my wish that every couple/family have knowledge and support of their childbirth process, a familiarity with the alternatives, and access to good, evidence based information.

In many hospitals, women are not given the risks and benefits of many standard interventions, and that makes me sad. My last client was continuously monitored and kept in bed for no good reason whatsoever, other than the convenience of the staff and doctor. She was forced to push in stirrups, denied food and anything but water and ice chips and her natural and inuitive sense of how best to alleviate her pain was essentially ignored in favor of hospital policy and procedure.

She would have characterized it as a good birth, though, so I'm happy. However, part of the reason she would characterize it as such is because she wasn't aware of how much better it could have been - she wasn't interested in choosing a doctor or a setting who truly supported her desire to have a natural birth. And I think she put herself at far greater risk of cesarean and other danger to the baby due to some of those practices. Still, it was her birth, and her choices are not mine.

A good resource is www.dona.org. There's lots of information there to read through if you're interested in using a doula, recommending a doula or becoming a doula.

Alison

ctmax

06-12-2006, 06:46 PM

Hi, I know how you are feeling I had minor spotting for the first 3 months with my first 2 and then with my third I had some spotting to start off with and then some days I would need to wear a thick pad. After the third month it all stopped again until the very end of my pregnancy and then I had some really light spotting, but the doctor said I was prone to bleeding so he was not worried unless I had cramps with it. I'm happy to say my third will be 1 in 2 weeks.

Holly

06-12-2006, 10:15 PM

My sister is in her first trimester, and is also having bleeding problems. The day she was scheduled for an ultrasound, she woke up to bleeding that soaked through 2 pads. She was sure she miscarried only to find out at the ultrasound that the baby looked good and the heartbeat was strong! She is finding out that bleeding is more common than she ever thought, and her pregnancy is now progressing w/out incident. She also had smaller bleeding episodes right after she found out she was pg (but too early to see the heartbeat).

As you are finding out, it seems to be more common than I ever thought. Hang in there!

knittingdoula

06-13-2006, 01:06 AM

In some instances, bleeding signifies the loss of a twin.

Shandeh

06-13-2006, 01:34 AM

Hi Cristy!

I'm no expert, and I can't offer any advice because it's been so long since I had my three sons. I can't remember if I bled or not.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you.
:pray:

Cristy

06-13-2006, 09:34 PM

In some instances, bleeding signifies the loss of a twin.

well thank God for that...LOL...jk....I'd die if I had twins....and dh would probably dig us both a grave!!! We always joke about having twins...

Thank you for praying for me red! ;)

itsbecca1979

06-14-2006, 09:07 AM

It's not really anothing to worry about unless it's red, at least that's what I've always heard. Brown discharge is just old blood. *hugs*

misstialouise

06-14-2006, 04:08 PM

It's not really anothing to worry about unless it's red, at least that's what I've always heard. Brown discharge is just old blood. *hugs*

As much as reassurance is important right now, ANY bleeding should be checked.

Cristy

06-14-2006, 08:03 PM

It's been checked and I'm told things are fine.

misstialouise

06-14-2006, 08:14 PM

It's been checked and I'm told things are fine.

Excellent! That's great news :D

I would prefer that the midwives think I'm paranoid than stress.. LOL..